Written in 73 minutes. Had to go over because it was 12:52 when I had one scene left, and I didn’t want to leave it out or leave it hanging.

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Monday, September 30, 2024

 General Hospital: Fletcher’s Office

Jason reluctantly sat in the chair that the doctor gestured toward, perching towards the edge and leaning forward — almost as if, given half the chance, he could be up and gone within seconds.

Dr. Fletcher picked up a notebook from his desk, then came over to the chair across from Jason. “I know these sessions can be uncomfortable. I appreciate you coming in and participating in Danny’s therapy.”

“If this helps him, that’s what I want to do,” Jason said, and the doctor nodded, making a note.

“How are you  holding up after the hearing and Danny’s first visit with his mother?”

Jason furrowed his brow. “We’re not here about me.”

“You’re not my patient, no,” Fletcher said, “but you’re my patient’s father. His world is built around the adults in it. Everything you do affects him. Even if you think it doesn’t. I can’t help him if I don’t understand the people around him.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “I know that’s true,” he said after a moment. “I…I raised my nephew for the first year of his life, and I saw how he reacted to me, to others. He knew when I was angry, when I was upset, when I was—” he stopped. “I’m fine. About all of that. I didn’t want it to happen, but it did. And now we just have to deal with what’s left.”

“You told me during our first visit that you were avoiding court. That you didn’t want Danny in this position. Do you think Danny is worse off because you waited?”

“I—” Jason leaned back now, just slightly, surprised by the question. “I don’t know.”

“Danny told me something important about his visit with his mother,” Fletcher continued. “I won’t tell you exactly what he said, but he indicated that he intentionally introduced the subject of Elizabeth because he knew it would trigger his mother’s anger — and that it was the only way she might be honest with him.”

Jason grimaced, and not being able to stand it anymore, got to his feet, and paced towards the window. “I hate that he feels that way.”

“Does he do that with you?”

Jason hesitated, then squinted, looked back at the doctor. “I don’t think so. When he was arrested, he was angry when I brought him back to Elizabeth’s house. We were both angry,” he corrected. “I didn’t like the position he’d put himself in, the way he was speaking to his mother, to his brother, to Elizabeth. And the fact that he and Aiden were drinking or smoking at all — addiction— both our families have a history. And the way Danny talks about drinking…my brother, AJ, used to drink to get away from the pressure he felt from our family. So we were angry with each other. But I don’t think Danny intentionally pushes me to be angry.”

“Does he ask you difficult questions?”

“Like what?”

“Why you were gone for two years?” Fletcher prompted. “Why you and his mother divorced?”

“He’s asked those questions. I tell him the truth, the best I can. He doesn’t need to know everything about his mother and I.”

“Danny described you as someone who tries to be fair to everyone — even when someone is clearly wrong.”

“Did he?” Jason asked, surprised, then folded his arms. “I guess that’s true.” He frowned. “Is that a bad thing?”

“What’s the cost of that approach do you think?” Fletcher said instead. “You described the last few months as trying to approach Danny’s custody arrangement with Sam’s perspective in mind. She was right to be worried, you told me. You tried to be fair to her.”

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it, squinting. What was the cost to that approach? “I don’t know.”

“What does Danny learn from watching you avoid escalating? How do you think it helped Danny to delay the use of the court to force his mother to give you equal rights in Danny’s guardianship?”

That was a hell of a question, and Jason didn’t really have a good answer. “It didn’t, I guess. Sam just thought she could keep pushing because I wouldn’t push back. I tried to keep Danny from being put in the middle, but that’s all it did.”

“Do you think he resents that you didn’t act faster?”

“Does he?” Jason asked instead. “I don’t—” He stopped. “I don’t know. Maybe. He doesn’t like that he wasn’t in court. That he couldn’t speak for himself. Maybe that made his visit with his mother worse. I don’t want that. I don’t want him to feel like he has to attack Sam to get honesty. How do I fix that?”

“How often do you tell him he doesn’t have to choose?” Fletcher asked, and Jason scowled. “How often do you say something neutral in front of him about her? Do you ever defend her?”

“What’s to defend?” Jason asked before thinking, then grimaced. “I try to be careful what I say.     He already has a difficult relationship with her. I’m not interested in making it worse.”

“You were in a similar situation with your other son, Jake. Danny says until recently, you and Jake’s mother were not involved. I didn’t get any indication there were any conversations or problems around custody.”

Confused by the change in topic, Jason furrowed his brows again. “There weren’t. It’s different with Jake. Elizabeth and I haven’t been together for most of his life, and for a time…” he hesitated. “There was a time when Jake was young that I wasn’t involved in his life. Jake wouldn’t remember any of that. Danny wouldn’t know about it. But once I was in Jake’s life, Elizabeth made it easy to stay there. I’ve never had to fight to be with Jake.”

“So Danny sees a different example of how it could be,” Fletcher pointed out, and Jason winced. “Do you think that’s influencing his relationship with his mother? Why he’s bringing up Elizabeth with Sam?”

“Probably,” Jason admitted. He returned to the chair, perched on the edge. “I know it’s troubled him, the way Sam talks about his brother. About Elizabeth. I could see Danny wishing his situation with his mother was more like what Jake and Elizabeth have. I don’t know how to handle that. How to help him manage it. If I even should.”

“Danny’s at a crossroads,” Fletcher told him. “Up until this year, Sam was the primary parent in his life, you were more a visitor. It’s a statement of fact, not a judgment,” he added when Jason winced. “Right now, that situation has reversed. You’re not just the primary parent in his life, you’re also the stable one. If he’s not pushing you for honesty through anger or manipulation, that means there’s a level of trust. It’s important that you protect that. He feels safe with you. And he doesn’t feel safe with his mother.”

“I want him to be safe with both of us.”

“Danny wants that, too. It’s why he’s pushing his mother. He wants her to reveal harsh truths because maybe she can change. Because he’s changing. His truth was revealed — his substance abuse, and he feels guilty because he’s been rewarded for it. He’s living with his brother and father full-time with few restrictions despite his behavior. He feels guilty because he has a maternal relationship with Elizabeth, a woman his mother has made it clear she dislikes for that exact reasons. He’s enjoying the life he’s experienced, and there’s a part of him that thinks — if Sam could hit the rock bottom the way he did, maybe she might get better.”

“How do I help him? That’s all I care about.”

“A lot of what you’re already doing. Continued honesty, even if it’s difficult. Danny tests you less because he feels safe with you. But that might change. The safer he feels, the more comfortable he might feel to start pushing the boundaries of that freedom. He pushed and pushed until his mother walked out on him. You’ve already left him once. What does it take for someone to stay?”

Jason exhaled slowly, leaned back. “He needs me to stay. To not give up on him.”

“Exactly. Continue staying neutral as best you can about his mother in front of him. Don’t analyze her behavior. Make it clear that these visits with his mother aren’t about fixing anything and he doesn’t have to report to anyone when he’s done. He doesn’t need perform loyalty with you. So far he hasn’t indicated he wants to return to drinking or smoking weed. These are good signs. But he might relapse. What’s your plan if that happens?”

Jason paused, considering the question. “I know that he does it to numb himself, to make things go away. If he does, then it means something’s happened. And that’s more important to find out than punishing him.”

“That’s a good instinct. Conversation, identification of the cause. Punishment can come later. It’s important that Danny has limits and consequences, but they won’t resolve anything.” Fletcher made some notes. “I’m having my first session with his mother tomorrow, and I’d like to talk to Jake and Elizabeth if that’s possible. Jake, especially. He’s important in Danny’s social structure.”

“I’m sure they’d both agree.” Jason paused. “Am I allowed to ask what you’ll say to Sam?”

“You can ask. But until the two of you are in a room, I can’t answer.” Fletcher put down his pen. “Is there anything you’d like her to know? That’s something I’ll ask her as well. And share the answers.”

Jason considered the question carefully. “I want her to know that Danny is all that matters to me. I want him to be okay, to be happy, and that I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. That for all the things we’ve done and said to each other, none it should matter more than our son.”

Penthouse: Living Room

“I’m so glad you’re getting to finally  talk to that doctor tomorrow,” Kristina said, curling up on the sofa next to Sam. “You’ll get to tell your side of things, and he’ll be able to make Danny understand the truth.”

Sam smiled weakly, picking the sofa cushion. “The truth, huh? Which one?”

“That Elizabeth is deliberately trying to make things worse for you and Danny so she can replace you. I don’t care what Mom says,” Kristin added. “Elizabeth is the one that brought Danny here, knowing how you feel about her being around Danny. It’s bad enough Jason’s living there. Elizabeth rubbed your face in it.”

“That might be true,” Sam said, sitting up and folding her legs. “But it doesn’t change the mistakes I’ve made. I grabbed her. I slapped her.”

“And then she got to look like the benevolent victim by not filing charges. She pushed you into that, Sam. You need to stand up for yourself tomorrow,” Kristina said. “Make sure that doctor knows everything Elizabeth did to steal Jason from you, right? Getting pregnant to trap him, coming between the two of you back then, trying to use Jake to keep him away from you, then lying about Jake Doe—”

Sam made a face. “If I start listing all of that—” she trailed off, looked away.

“Then what?” Kristina demanded. “What? What’s going to happen?”

“Krissy, it wasn’t all Elizabeth back then. I did…” Her sister’s expression tensed, and Sam dropped her eyes. “I did some terrible things.”

“Jason worked for the mob, Sam. What’s worse than that? He’s killed people.”

“He worked for your father, Kristina. And my history isn’t much better. I—I’ve used the danger to criticize Jason, but I don’t use his actions — that’s not fair.” Sam sighed. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to walk into another room where someone blames me for everything. I’ve made mistakes, but so has everyone else. It just doesn’t seem fair that I’m the only one paying for it.”

“For now,” Kristina said, and Sam frowned at her. “After tomorrow, you’ll see. Everything will be better. I can almost guarantee it. But you—” She jabbed a finger at Sam. “You have to promise to stand up for yourself with that doctor. Promise me.”

“I promise I’ll do my best tomorrow,” Sam said, “but I wish I felt as optimistic as you do.”

Kristina smiled. “You’ll see. I just have a good feeling.”

Bobbie’s Diner: Dining Room

Spinelli opened the door, and nearly turned all the way around when he realized a familiar face was at the counter.

But it was too late — Sonny had already seen him and was lifting a hand in acknowledgment. Spinelli forced himself to smile, then strode forward. “Mr. Sir,” he said. “Always a pleasure to see you.”

“I thought you’d retired all those old nicknames,” Sonny said with a wrinkle of his nose. “You’re not a kid anymore.”

“No, I’m not,” Spinelli said, a bit wistfully. “But I find it makes Stone Cold feel more like his old self when I throw in some of the old stuff.” He nodded to the waitress. “Picking up for Maxie Jones.”

“It does bring me back to a different time when I hear it,” Sonny admitted. “How’s he doing? I know you can’t tell me anything about the case, but you see Jason and Elizabeth more than I do. They holding up?”

“As best as one can imagine,” Spinelli said carefully. “The Jackal hasn’t been successful yet, but I have every hope that before trial, I’ll have some answers.”

“Good. That’s good—”

“Mr. Corinthos—” Another waitress came out of the kitchen, a little breathless. “Margie said you were out here. I was gonna wait until Ms. Spencer came in because she’d have the number, but—” She leaned under the counter and came up with a cell phone. “Kristina was in earlier and left this on the counter.”

Sonny sighed, retrieved the phone, turning it over in his hands. “You’d think she was a teenager the way she loses phones,” he muttered. He looked at Spinelli. “You’ve got a daughter. How many phones does she lose?”

Spinelli lifted his brow. “Georgie? She’s still got the one we gave her last year on her birthday.” He cleared his throat. “Kristina’s been a little distracted lately, I’m sure.”

“Distracted, yeah, I guess that’s fair. I just—you know every time she has to replace a phone, we have to put security on the damn thing so it can’t just be hacked by that—” Sonny gestured. “AirPlay? Is that what it is? This is the second time she’s left her phone somewhere this month.”

“This month?” Spinelli echoed, his heartbeat picking up. “That does seem like a lot. Even my Maximista doesn’t lose phones at that rate. Good luck with that.”

“Thanks. It was good seeing you, Spinelli.” Sonny slid the phone into his pocket, and reached for his order. “Do good work, okay?”

“Will do, Mr. Sir.” Spinelli watched him go, his head already racing. Kristina had a phone replaced this month? When? Why? Had she tried to erase evidence after making a false tip? Could they legally find out without her picking up the scent?

He tugged his phone out of his pocket and began to fire off a text to Diane.

What does it take to get a subpoena for someone’s phone records?

Webber House: Living Room

“I don’t understand,” Jake said, leaning forward with his brow creased. “They let you out on bail. They can’t just take it back.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Aiden chimed in. “How is that fair?”

Elizabeth, standing across the coffee table and sofa, blocking the television, exchanged a look with Jason, then took a deep breath. “It’s not fair—”

“But sometimes they don’t care about what’s right or fair,” Danny said, and all eyes swung to him, squeezed into the corner of the sofa with Jake between him and Aiden. “I mean, my mom went to jail over that Shiloh guy. He was awful. He did bad things to Kristina, to Willow, he was gonna hurt Cameron—but no one cared about any of that. Fair doesn’t matter.”

“No, that wasn’t fair, and neither is this,” Elizabeth said. She bit her lip. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen for sure. But Diane usually has a good nose for this kind of thing, and we’re pretty confident it’s going to, at least, come up tomorrow.”

“And  they could take you right then?” Aiden wanted to know. “Like—that would be it?”

“Yes. If the judge decides to revoke bail immediately. But he might ask the government to formally file a bail revocation, which means we’d have more time. Spinelli said he was close to answers the last time I talked to him,” Elizabeth said. “It might come to nothing.”

“But it might be something,” Cameron said, standing behind the sofa, his arms folded.

“It—” Elizabeth pressed her lips together, took a deep breath. “It might,” she managed. Jason squeezed her hand.

“If it does,” Jason said, “then the most important thing we can do is focus on the truth. Your mother is innocent, and there’s a lot of evidence that will prove it. Even before Spinelli finds something definitive. I believe in him, in Diane.”

“Would it be like last time?” Aiden asked, staring down at the floor, his voice sounding younger than his fourteen years. “Could…could we see you, talk to you?”

“I don’t know. I hope it would be different. I can’t imagine they could restrict visitors permanently,” Elizabeth said.

“But I’ll be here,” Cameron said, and Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “If they send you to the same place, the weekends are visiting times. I’ll be here on the weekends. I’ll be going back to California on Wednesday,” he added when Jake turned to look at him. “Mom and I agreed. Diane will have the guardianship agreement updated by then so that I can be there for Aiden and Jake if I need to.”

“You don’t trust my dad?” Danny said, swinging his eyes back to his father. “Are you going somewhere?”

“No,” Jason said firmly, and Elizabeth looked at him now, because there was something different in his voice when he said it this time. “I’m staying right here, but it’s always a good idea to have back up in case something happens to me. They—they think I’m part of this. That your mother is covering for me,” he told the boys. “There needs to be another layer of guardianship if something goes wrong.”

“Oh.” Danny settled, mollified.

“We’re both innocent,” Jason continued. “And we’re going to keep fighting this. I know it’s hard — especially because I haven’t given anyone in this room a reason to trust me,” he added. “But I’m not going anywhere, and we’ll fight as long as we have to make sure your mother doesn’t either.”

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